While You Were Offline: Amazon Trolls Us With a Dumb Sale

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While You Were Offline: Amazon Trolls Us With a Dumb Sale

Ben Margot/AP

It's been a week of Internet navel-gazing, with the world weird web reacting to online sales that failed to excite and online communities undergoing significant changes. (It's also been a week of very suspicious deaths in custody and horrific slaughters in Tennessee, but you likely knew about them already; if not, read up.) It's not all been endless drama, however; someone has come up with the best idea ever for updating Confederate sculptures in Atlanta, for example, and Orphan Black star Tatiana Maslany got nominated for an Emmy. So the light at the end of the tunnel may be weak, but you can still find it in this pick of this week's happenings on the online frontier.

What's Black and White and Reddit All Over?

What Happened: Reddit CEO Ellen Pao stepped down this week following fresh outcry about events at the site, but if bitter Redditors planned to celebrate, her replacement gave them reason not to.

The resignation, she said, was "a mutual decision" between herself and the company following differences of opinion about the company's potential for growth. "They had a more aggressive view than I did," she said in an interview. Her departure brought to an end a period of controversy surrounding her reign at the head of the company, which included her being called a Nazi for daring to remove five subreddits centered around online harassment. But if trolls thought that they'd won the battle, they were in for a shock when Steve Huffman, one of the site's founders who returned as CEO after Pao's resignation, announced the site was never meant to be "a bastion of free speech," and that "some communities currently on the platform should not be here at all."

Thursday, he followed up on those comments by announcing a new set of content guidelines for the site that expressly forbid anything illegal, any bullying or abuse, and any sexually suggestive content. He also wrote that NSFW content and "content that violates a common sense of decency" should be posted in areas that require active opt-in.

The moves made plentyofheadlinesacrosstheInternet, and even within Reddit many were suspicious about what was going on (Yishan Wong, another former CEO, even shared a conspiracy theory about what had happened). As to whether this is really the end of Reddit, as many are predicting? Probably not... but it might mean the end of the Reddit that the Internet knew and felt somewhat ambivalent about, depending on the day of the week.

The Takeaway: Be careful what you wish for, perhaps? There's a certain amount of schadenfreude over the fate of Reddit, considering what has previously been hosted there, but really, who knows how it will turn out? Really, ask me anything and I can only offer suggestions.

This Is a Call to All My Past Resignations

What Happened: In response to the demands made of Greece by Eurogroup in exchange for bailing the country out of financial armageddon, a hashtag was born.

Where It Blew Up: Twitter, media think pieces

What Really Happened: The terms of the deal Eurozone members made with Greece last weekend had some relatively strict terms reportedly suggested by German authorities, including new austerity measures for the country and setting aside 50 billion euros as collateral for loans. Many were shocked by the terms, but none more than a Spanish activist called Francesca, who reportedly texted 40 people on Sunday afternoon, suggesting that she and her friends try to tweet their upset at what was being proposed. They even came up with a hashtag for their tweets: #ThisIsACoup.

In a statement released Monday, the organizers of the hashtag said that, although the idea started in Barcelona, "it resonated around the world because it expressed a common sense of impotence of citizens in the face of globalized financial powers... The scandalous Eurogroup proposals yesterday made last night the ideal moment to create a hashtag to express and, above all, coordinate, our outrage at the extortion the Greek government and its people were being subject to."

The movement gained an early follower in noted economist Paul Krugman, who took to the New York Times to show his support. "The trending hashtag ThisIsACoup is exactly right," he wrote in an op-ed. "This goes beyond harsh into pure vindictiveness, complete destruction of national sovereignty, and no hope of relief. It is, presumably, meant to be an offer Greece can't accept; but even so, it's a grotesque betrayal of everything the European project was supposed to stand for." Manymorestoriesappearedlater, notingthehashtag as well. Rarely has planned protest gone so viral so quickly.

The Takeaway: Given that the Greek government voted to approve the measures of the bailout, it was apparently a successful coup—but that doesn't make this social media movement any less important.

I'm Sorry, Stone Mountain, I Am For Real

What Happened: Someone's created a petition to add Outkast's Big Boi and Andre 3000 to Stone Mountain, alongside the three Confederate leaders already carved into the granite.

Where It Blew Up: Twitter, blogs, media think pieces

What Really Happened: What would make the sculpture of Confederate leaders Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, and Thomas Jackson in Stone Mountain Park more palatable to contemporary visitors (currently the subject of much discussion)? Why, add two more figures: Big Boi and Andre 3000 to it, driving a cadillac.

Mack Williams is the man behind the inspired MoveOn.org petition to do that very thing. "I believe that Daddy Fat Sacks and Three Stacks should be carved riding in a Cadillac (as is their wont)," he writes in explanation on the petition. "Outkast are two of the greatest Georgians in the history of our state. It's about time the Empire State of the South paid proper tribute to them, while also improving a great monument and tourist attraction."

The Takeaway: This is clearly the way to deal with America's problematic past; don't just hide it away and pretend it never happened, add new faces to show that things have improved, no matter that it's nowhere near enough. Add Outkast to Stone Mountain! Get flags of Kanye West!

Primed For Disappointment

What Happened: Amazon's attempt at creating its own Black Friday, "Prime Day," had a lot of people excited... before they saw what was actually on sale.

Where It Blew Up: Twitter, blogs, media think pieces

What Really Happened: In retrospect, Amazon's "Prime Day"—a one-day promotion for its Amazon Prime service that promised "more deals than Black Friday!"—was almost guaranteed to disappoint, given the amount of excited anticipation that surrounded it ahead of time. When the company started unveiling its bargains, however, that excitement turned into... something else:

The answer was apparently yes; despite the complaints and trending Twitter hashtag #PrimeDayFail hashtag, sales increased 93 percent on the day, making it bigger than Black Friday in terms of sales, ensuring that we'll see a return next year. Maybe by then, people will have realized just how much they could do with some discounted housecleaning products.

The Takeaway: This just in: a bargain is only a bargain if you were going to buy the thing in question in the first place. The key to success for future Prime Days? Just make sure that you're totally out of vitamins and mops ahead of time.

Not Snubbed, Finally

What Happened: The Emmy nominations were announced Thursday. To the surprise of many, *Orphan Black'*s Tatiana Maslany wasn't snubbed.

Where It Blew Up: Twitter, blogs

What Really Happened: Let's put this simply: The Emmys have a tradition of not recognizing how wonderful Tatiana Maslany is on Orphan Black. The woman plays multiple roles in the show, with each one coming across as a separate—well, as separate as clones can be—and fully-rounded individual, and yet, she found herself continually passed over when it came to the Best Actress category... until this year.